Who To Talk To For

Time off

First of all, talk to your Team Leader to understand if having you off is sustainable. If you are the Team Leader, please talk with your team and with somebody from the management board to make sure your team can go without your direction.

Once done, send a mail to admin@sparkfabrik.com specifying your desired dates/time off and wait for a written reply to your request.
This isn't done to carve the permission in stone, but to make sure all administrative processes involved in you having time off will be triggered (ex. monthly reporting to the customers).

I'm worried about something

The fastest we address a problem, the faster we get better, so don't take it for yourself.

If it's important to you, but not urgent, please use our physical or virtual [Parking lot]. If it pertains only to your project, jot down a note to discuss during project retrospectives. If it's urgent, don't hesitate to reach out to your Team Leader for project-related issues or to talk to a management representative if you see fit.

My equipment is broken/malfunctioning

Please, write immediately to admin@sparkfabrik.com if your gizmos have problems. We need to be informed quickly to enforce warranties before expiration. If you have a problem with a facility you own personally, we'll be eager to provide a temporary or permanent replacement. Again, don't hesitate to warn us about the problem, you are supposed to be able to work to your full extent.

I can't get what's behind a company decision

SparkFabrik claims to be open to every voice. Still in the end someone on the management board has to take the final decision. It may be that you don't get all the reasons behind a specific choice. In that case, feel free to reach out to someone on the management board (target specific persons if you are sure to know who took that decision) and ask for clarification.

We really want everyone to be on board and it's important that everybody with an interest in understanding the company's direction can get explanations about it.

I have a problem with a colleague/someone in here

First of all, try to solve it using polite, explicit discussion. Try not to be shy, touchy or too proud: our manifesto assumes that all of us do our work giving the best. If things don't click, admit it with transparency and an open mind for the ideas of your interlocutor.

If this won't fix, talk with your team leader or a management board representative. Odds are good your mate will arrange a meeting with the person you are in trouble with, to help both of you analyze things from an unbiased position.

We can't promise all will be OK but we are sure that everyone will have a chance to express their voice.

I want to propose a company-wide activity

Great! If it's something outside the working time, organized and carried out by the involved people (better yet if anyone can opt-in/out at wish) but still meant to be a "company event" (a dinner, a meetup, the [Board Game Night], etc) you can use [Slack channels] to propose it out loud to the office! The bottom line is that you can organize it without any prior consent.

If you have an idea for an activity with impacts on:

• Time budgets
• Money budgets
• Requires "private" access to the offices outside working hours
• Requires the presence of all / the majority of the staff
• Can provide a valuable asset for the company (training sessions, presence at an event, a retreat, etc.)

then talk about it with the management board or drop a line at admin@sparkfabrik.com. We'll evaluate it against other proposals or ideas, possibly collecting votes from everybody. We'll also make sure it stays within the budget and coordinate the presence of every involved people. If you want to help in / drive the organization, you'll be welcome as long as your Team Leader will give you the OK to spend a part of your time on the activity.

I want to propose a variation to the company rules

This is something we'd like to discuss with everybody! Put a card in the [Parking lot] and we'll discuss it with everybody during a company retrospective. If you feel it's urgent, drop a line at admin@sparkfabrik.com and reach out to a management board representative.